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Sony Announces Version 1.0 Of Linux for Playstation 2
Posted by
timothy
on Wed Jan 30, 2002 01:22 AM
from the uncrackable-web-server dept.
from the uncrackable-web-server dept.
ResearchBuzz writes: "Sony has announced the May 2002 release of Linux (for Playstation 2) Release 1.0." He quotes from the press release: "The company expects the kit to sell for about $199 USD when it is made available in May 2002 exclusively through its website, http://www.us.playstation.com."
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Sony Announces Version 1.0 Of Linux for Playstation 2
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Not on TV, Requires Sync on Green (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Not on TV, Requires Sync on Green (Score:4, Interesting)
And, IIRC, you can still use this with a normal TV, you just won't get that great of resolution. I'm not sure how it would work with say a 1080i HDTV.
Wrong. Once setup, you can use TV (Score:5, Informative)
Yes. However, it is necessary to install Linux (for PlayStation 2) for the first time using a compatible VESA Monitor that supports "sync on green". Once Linux has been installed, it is possible to configure it to boot using TV display from then on. Some digital TV (DTV) modes are also supported (separate cables may be required for DTV).
Which Display Resolutions are supported ?
NTSC/PAL interlaced and non-interlaced
DTV 480P, 720P and 1080I modes
VESA modes 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 at 60/75 Hz
More:
Linux (for PlayStation®2) Version 1.0 FAQ [playstation2-linux.com]
MAME (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Don't fret the $199 (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't matter whether you decide to believe Sony is profiting on the hardware or the software, it obviously took them some effort (more than making yet another x86 distro) to port this, so quit whining and don't buy it if you don't want it.
Re:Don't fret the $199 (Score:4, Informative)
Your source doesn't sound very knowledgeable.
Re:Don't fret the $199 (Score:5, Interesting)
And this is exactly why Linux won't make it bigtime,- there's no money in it. I'm sorry to be so negative (but I'm sure the Karma Police will fix that) but here's a company that's actually doing something kewl, and what do they get? People bitching about 2 hundred fucking dollars.
Have you looked a M$ XP license recently?
I mean, what do you expect? Sony people preparing each individual kit by purchasing used gear from eBay???
Show me an other company selling an add-on kit including harddrive, keyboard, mouse and network adaptor AND an OS for $200,-
here is a good question... (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't see why it would not be possible to do so unless they have really done a good job putting protections into place.
The Entertainment Lifestyle (Score:3, Insightful)
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle
I was actually excited about this neat-o deal until I read this phrase. Doesn't it seem a bit silly to praise and promote a life filled with entertainment? Or am I being a joykill?
On the other hand, if entertainment is being redefined as Linux hacking, maybe there's a great deal more progress being made than I realized...
Nethack (Score:5, Funny)
Alister
Hmmm... (Score:3, Funny)
Just remember, it's for PlayStation (for Play(for PlayStat(for PlayStation 2)ion 2)Station 2) 2!
Sony maintains control – no ad-hoc DVD authoring (Score:4, Informative)
With my end-user hat on , I think this is a good thing, as I know that all commercial PS2 bootable DVD will have at least some sort of minimum quality control
With my hacker/geek hat on, I'm kinda disappointed that this won't allow non Sony sanctioned s/w to be produced for the PS2
I'm not sure which way to lean on this one, so it's just an observation at this stage !
Darren Kruse CCNP CCDP
WAN/LAN Networking Consultant
mailto://darren_kruse@hotmail.com
www.geocities.com/darren_kruse [geocities.com]
PS2-linux URL (Score:3, Interesting)
For those who are interested, this is the place to go. Every 'community' like /. stated as one or two guys with an idea...
In other words, the site is kinda small right now.
It helps if you, like, smoke a lot of weed.
Popular New Service (Score:3, Funny)
Site Statistics
Hosted Projects: 5
Registered Users: 5
Hurray and be registered user 6!
Question (Score:5, Insightful)
Last week, we hated Sony for its DRM copy-protection on Sony Memory sticks.
The week before that, we loved Sony because they were releasing a PS2 Linux kit in Japan.
The week before that, we hated Sony because they were a key proponent in creating the DMCA.
The week before that, we liked Sony because of the PS2.
The week before that, we hated Sony because they shutdown an AIBO hack site.
Do we like or hate Sony this week?
Television output (Score:4, Interesting)
This is the only thing that bugs me (well, aside from the fact that I live in Japan and this won't run on my Japanese PS/2, and the Japanese version of the kit is high near impossible to obtain). I don't really _need_ a monitor (I'd just ssh in from my main workstation) but I would really like to be able to, say, watch streaming video on my TV. (Example: Star Trek Enterprise won't be showing in Japan for like, another 2 years. I have been grabbing eps from the 'net and watching them on my crappy 17" LCD monitor, while my 24" TV sits there idle.)
Anybody know more about this? Surely the development of a driver to push video through the RCA video hookup wouldn't be too difficult?
Something about this doesn't feel right. (Score:5, Informative)
When Sony released the "Net Yaroze" (A grey PSX painted black for hobbiests), there was a very restrictive licence in the contract you had to sign. This included a "all programs created with the Yaroze are property of Sony" clause. They also popped in an NDA for good mesure too. It was a little too resticting for me.
When I was halfway though my Doc, I let my e-mail show up on a PSXDev mailing list informing them of the Doc I was working on. I almost immidiatly got an e-mail from Sony of Japan(!) asking if I spoke Japanese. When I answered that I did, I got a real nastygram in Japanese basicly saying that if I even think about publising any of the libary commands to the PSX I'd be up the proverbial estuary without means of locomotion. A few months later I published, had a little tussle about the BIOS hooks, and now I'm here.
I haven't played with the Japanese Linux for PS2, but it still stinks. I used to live in Japan and know first hand that they have very restrictive intellectual property laws. (Like music CDs that are made for rental and others that you can buy, but they have to be at a sold at a particular price set by the company.) I can tell you right away, If you are thinking of doing anything that reqires accessing the CD/DVD-ROM, such as DVD Playback, reading files files from a disk, or even finding something in
Be aware that were will probably going to be proprietary drives/libs that you will not be able to reverse without Sony calling the lawyers. I know you will have *ZERO* access to the bootloader. Once again, if this isn't the case, I'll be pleasently suprised again.
Finally, I doubt that you will be able to play PS2 games/DVDs out of the moniter adapter. If you do, if I remeber, you will only get the green channel to show up.
I'm also sure that if you make a copy of the Linux disk for some sap with a hacked harddrive and a modchip, Sony will be knocking.
Just a heads up.
-Joshua Walker
Sony abides by GPL (Score:5, Interesting)
Color me impressed. Not only did I receive a reply within minutes, but they are indeed fully abiding by the GPL.
This forum message [playstation2-linux.com] contains the reply with a bit more info.
Thanks, Sony!
They want to sell me my own code? (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't think thats quite right.
Re:They want to sell me my own code? (Score:5, Insightful)
Also note that your $199 buys you a hard drive and ethernet adaptor as well as the Sony extended PS2 supported versions of gcc and XFree86...
How come you find $199 for this a rip off, yet don't complain about RedHat or SuSE selling Linux without hard drives and network adaptors thrown in?
It's Linux whiners and cheapskates like you that put Loki out of business.
Only for North America ??? (Score:3, Funny)
Does anybody know if Sony has any plans to release the kit for European Playstations ?
I'd definately be up for buying one if they did.
Why being so excited about this? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why being so excited about Sony putting up with Linux on PS2. Granted this will probably bring some visibility and increased credibility to the Linux OS (is it good and does it need that really?) The only positive thing is for Sony to get the eggs out of the golden goose, the same way as Red Hat does.
They are the people behing DRM, DMCA, MPAA, and all the ugly things that EFF and other great folks (some of them slashdot readers) are fighting against. Come on, the company is evil, so why are the replies so enthusiastic about this?
If some people just decide to turn to Linux because Sony supports it on their PS2, does the community really needs these people?
I want to understand.
PPA, the girl next door.
Re:ps2 (Score:4, Funny)